Lettering device



Nov. 4, 1952 R. W. ANDERSON LETTERING DEVICE H E m A vw WEI I l 1 I I I|L|||LL1JP||||u s Filed Feb. 6, 1948 INVENTOR. ROBERT W ANDERSON Nov. 4,1952 R. w. ANDERSON LETTERING DEVICE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Feb. 6, 1948INVENTOR. ROBERT W. ANDERSON Patented Nov. 4, 1952 E'FEQE LETTERINGDEVICE Robert W. Anderson, Weehawken, N. J., assigncr to Keuffel & EsserCompany, Hcboken, N. 3., a

corporation of New Jersey Application February 6, 1948, Serial No. 6,576

11 Claims.

This invention relates to lettering or scribing devices of the kind inwhich a writing instrument is carried by a scriber member and isdirected over the surface to be written upon by a tracer pin moving incharacter grooves or the like formed in a template and by a tail pinmovable in a groove or the like parallel with the line of lettering. Thewriting instrument carried by the scriber may be either a pen, pencil orball point pen.

Devices of the character described, such as those shown in U. S. Patents2,011,195, 2,050,057, 2,050,058, to A. W. Keufiel have heretofore had aninherent limitation in their construction, in that a straight line wasnot produced by the writing instrument when the tracer pin followed astraight line groove in the template. In characters of small size thisdistortion of a straight line may have been of barely noticeable ornegligible magnitude. In a device used for larger characters, however,it was frequently necessary to distort the characters on the template sothat the characters formed by the writing instrument would have nonoticeable distortion. The distortion of characters became even morepronounced when using instruments provided with an adjustable arm formaking inclined letters.

One object of the invention is to provide a lettering device in whichthe writing instrument travels in a straight line when the tracer pin Ptravels in a straight line.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lettering device with anadjustable arm capable of forming inclined letters of various slopes butin which the writing instrument travels in a straight line when thetracer pin travels in a straight line regardless of the slope of thelettermg.

Another object of the invention is to simplify the production oftemplates for lettering devices of the type described by providing ascriber which is capable of forming undistorted characters, from atemplate provided with undistorted characters.

Another object of the invention is to simplify the production oftemplates having more than one row of letters or characters on theirfaces by making it possible to incline several rows of letters backwardat the same angle and still have the scriber produce undistortedvertical letters from each row.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified means forsecuring the writing instru ment to the scriber member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lettering device capableof forming inclined letters of various slopes directly proportional toadjustment of the movable arm and having means for indicating the slopeof the inclined letters clearly and simply.

These and other objects of the invention and the means for theirattainment will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating twopreferred embodiments of the invention and in which:

Figure I is a view in plan of an embodiment for drawing vertical lettersor characters.

Figure II is a view in elevation of the embodiment shown in Figure I.

Figure III is a view in side elevation of the embodiment shown in FigureI.

Figure IV is a view in enlarged plan showing the details of the writinginstrument holding means.

Figure V is a diagrammatic sketch showing the geometrical arrangement ofthe essential parts in Figure I.

Figure VI is a view in plan of an embodiment provided with adjustablemeans for drawing slanted letters or characters at various slopes.

Figure VII is a view in elevation of the embodiment shown in Figure VI.

Figure VIII is a view in side elevation of the embodiment shown inFigure VI.

Figure IX is a diagrammatic sketch showing the geometrical arrangementof the essential parts of the scriber and template shown in Figure VI.

Referring to Figures I, II, and III the template 2 is provided with atail pin groove 4 and character grooves 6. The character grooves 6 arein the two rows of characters 3 and 5. In the embodiment shown row 3 hasthe lower case or small letters and row 2 has the upper case or capitalletters. The tail pin and character grooves may take a variety of formsor may even be raised lines providing a suitable follower is provided.No limitation is intended hereinafter by use of the term groove.

The body member 8 is made up of a knob l0 fastened as by screws M to thescriber plate 12. The scriber plate I2 has three arms, the tail pin armIS, the tracer pin arm I8 and'the writing instrument arm 20, which inthis embodiment are integral therewith. The tail pin arm I6 carries thetail pin 22 which operates in the tail pin groove 4 of the template 2.The tracer pin arm l8 carries the tracer pin 24 which operates in thecharacter grooves 6. The writing instrument 3 arm carries the writinginstrument which in this embodiment is the pen 26.

The pen 26 is removable and is held in position by the clamp screw 28 onthe writing instrument arm 29. The clamp slot 3t from the edge of thearm extends substantially parallel to the upper edge of the writinginstrument arm 20 into the hole 3| which receives the pen 26 forming aclamp strap 32 which is an integral part of the writing instrument arm25 and the scriber plate I2. When the clamp screw 28 is tightened, itwraps the clamp strap 32 around the pen 26 holding it firmly in place.

Referring to Figure V, the-body member 8 (not shown) is formedsothat'the'tail pin 22,

tracer pin 24, and writing instrument 2B are the vertices of a righttriangle, the side 24-25 being perpendicular to the side 2fl'22, and theangle a between side 22-24 and side 2226 being of a predetermined value.The tail pin groove 4 is :shown containing the tail pin. 22 as usual..To illustrate the geometrical relationships the tracer .pin.2d is .alsoshownin the-tailpin groove 4 because the character groove T is assumedto continue until it intersects the .tail pin groove 4. The. straightcharacter groove 1 which would be thecharacter groove forthe verticalpart of the icapital letter I or the numeral 1.. or the ver- '.ticalline. in any letter is formed in the templatev so that the angle a',between the character groove 1 and the vertical lin'e34 isof thesamepredetermined value as anglera. "The vertical. line 34 which is thepathiollowedby the writing instrumenti' ZS when the tracer. pin follows.the

straight character groove ,1 as. described is pera pendicular to thetail pin groove 4. If the device is made according to .the geovmetricarrangementshownin Figure V and described above, when the tracer, plaza.moves along the charactergroove 1 or along any portion of the groove 1within the limits permitted by the device and'the tail pin 22 movesalong the 'tail'pin groove 4, the writing instrument will move along thevertical line 34. If the character groove 1 is a straight line'the linedrawn by the drawing'instrument'willlalso be a straight line. It-isimmaterial how'iar. fromjthe' tail ipin groove 4"the'tracing'pin24'moves along the straight line 1, the writing "instrument'flfi willalways-follow the verticaliline34. Therefore'the line 1 couldincludevertical portionsof charaetersin both rows sand 5," for-examplethe -vertical sides-'ofithezletters D and d'couldbe produced by thewriting instrument arm along the line 34. of. Figure V. Furthermore itis :not necessary that the vertical parts of' the'letters from -bothr0ws-lie' on the same straight 'line, 'they may lie inany-line parallelto'the line 1 Which" will be-inclined at an angle; equal'to V angles a-and a from 'the vertical. Similarly if the tracer pin- 24-follows agroove representing a-character suchas a -letter O in either row butwhich is back-wardly inclined byan angleequal to the-angles a and a' thewriting instrumentwill trace the character or -letter O'inan-undistortedvertical position.

% In Figure VI a template 2 is again shown provided witha'tail-pin"gr00ve 4 and character grooves 6. fT-he scribermember38in'this emb'odiment is made upor three-mainparts, the -k-nob40,- the scriber plate 42 and-the-adiustable writing-instrument arm 50;Theiknob w is'securely fastened to the scriber plate '42 as by the:"screws 44. The adjustable writing instrument armififl is rotatablebelow the-knob';4fl about. the

pin 45 which is secured to the scriber plate 42.

The scriber plate 42 is provided with two arms, the tail pin arm 46, andthe tracer pin arm 48. The tail pin arm 46 carries the tail pin 52 whichis slidable in the tail pin groove 4. A weight not shown may be providedon the tail pin arm 46 in order to hold the tail pin 52 in the tail pingroove 4. The tracer pin arm= 81carries the tracer. pin- 54 whichoperates in; the character grooves 6. The adjustable writing instrumentarm 50 carries the writing instrument which as shown in this embodimentis a pen 56. The pen '56 is'removable and is held in position on theadjustable writing instrument arm 58 by the clamp screw 58, as in theFigure I embodiment.

The: motion-0f the adjustable writing instrument arm 50 is limited bythe stop pin 10 carried "by-the scriber plate 42 acting in the arcuateslot -72 provided in the adjustable writing instruwhich pass through itiThe lower .end. of the stop pin'lB is threaded to receive the. threadedtightening lever. 80. .The threaded tightening lever.';80 clamps theadjustable .writinginstrument arm 50, between thescriber plate '42andthe clampplatejlS to hold.theradjustablewriting instrumentarm" inadjusted position. .The

:upperside' of the clamp plate 79 may .be. provided with aroughenedsurface toincrease. friction and more securely hold theadjustablewriting instrument arm5ll.

The scriber plate'2 is provided with an angular scale 82.""Theadjustable writing instrument arm '50 is :providediwith an index mark8!! adjacenttothe 'angulariscal 82$ .In' this embodiment :the index.mark' is apin shaped to. a. V

sectionuviththe"vertexadjacent to the sc'ale'SZ. Alternatively;the scale82 may be provided on a-cylindrical edge of:the scriber platetZ and theindex'markmay be aline .on'the edge iof/rthe movablewritinginstrumentarm 50. Many' other arrangements-of scale "and index marks'arej pos---sible.' The angular scale"8'2. isicalibrate'd to indicate the forwardslope of'jthe characters produced withthe 'device in. the "adjustedposition of the' adjustable writing instrument armil'iThe calibrationsare" in angles which may be Lnumberedtoone half the actual angularrotation of the --movable writing instrument'arm'fid .in. a manner andfor reasons which will subsequently be described.Referring-toFigureFIXthe tail 'pin"52,'tracer pin 55, andwritinginstrument' are shown as --the-vertices of aright-triangleequivalentto that --s-hown'in"Figure V. The;side"5 i;56 is'perpen-'dicu-larto the side 5$'52 and the sidei521T-54 forms an angle. a ofpredetermined valuefwith side'53 55: The. tail pin groove 4 isshown as aline containing *the tail pin""52. A character "groove 7 is shown.containingthe tracerpir'rfid -and'making an angle a. otthe.samepredetermined value as. angle a with the .verticalline 34 'which isperpendicular to the tail pin groove :3.

video with straight undistorted characters which may be in more than onerow on the template but must be backwardly inclined an amount equal tothe angle a.

In the embodiment shown in Figure VI and diagrammatically in Figure IX apivot pin d5 is provided which is at the center or point of bisection ofthe line 5652. By turning the adjustable writing instrument arm aboutthe pin 45 through an angle 2) the writing instrument or pen 56 isbrought to an adjustedposition 56. The points 56 and 58 in Figure IX areequally distant from the point 45.

If the device is made according to the described geometric arrangement,the pen in its adjusted position 5% will move along a straight line 64%inclined forward from the vertical line as by an angle equal to /2 b,when the tracer pin follows the straight line 1 and the tail pin 52follows the straight line t. Therefore, such a device with theadjustable writing instrument arm 58 in adjusted position having beenturned thru an angle 2) so that the writing instrument 5'3 is inadjusted position 55' will draw straight undistorted charactersforwardly inclined by an angle b from a template provided with straightundistorted characters which may lie in more than one row on thetemplate but must be backwardly inclined an amount equal to the angle a.

In agreement with the geometric facts illustrated in Figure IX, theangular scale 82 shown in Figure VI should be calibrated to read onehalf the angle through which the adjustable writing instrument arm isactually turned.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. In a scriber for drawing characters from a template having charactergrooves and a tail pin groove, the combination of a tail pin, a tracerpin, and means for holding a, writing instrument, each substantially atthe vertices of a right triangle, said tracer pin being located at theright angle vertex.

2. In an adjustable scriber for drawing characters from a templatehaving character grooves and a tail pin groove, the combination of atail pin, a tracer pin, and means for holding a writing instrument, eachsubstantially at the vertices of a right triangle when the scriber isadjusted for drawing erect characters, said tracer pin being located atthe right angle vertex, a scriber body member having said tail pin andtracer pin secured thereto, an adjustable member carrying said means forholding a writing instrument, and pivot means placed at the midpoint ofthe hypotenuse of said right triangle about which said adjustable membermay be rotated, and means to hold said adjustable member in an adjustedposition.

3. In an adjustable scriber for drawing characters from a templatehaving character grooves and a tail pin groove, the combination of atail pin, a tracer pin, and means for holding a writing instrument, eachsubstantially at the vertices of a right triangle when the scriber isadjusted for drawing erect characters, said tracer pin being located atthe right angle vertex, a scriber body member having said tail pin andtracer pin secured thereto, an adjustable member carrying said means forholding a writing instrument, and pivot means placed at the midpoint ofthe hypotenuse of said right triangle about which said adjustable membermay be rotated, means to hold said adjustable member in an adjustedposition, and a scale to show the position of said adjustable member.

4. A scribing device comprising a template having character grooves anda tail pin groove, and a scriber having the combination of a tail pin, atracer pin and means for holding a writing instrument, eachsubstantially at the vertices of a right triangle, said tracer beinglocated at the right angle vertex.

5. A scribing device comprising a template having character groovesinclined backwardly at a predetermined angle from a vertical positionand a tail pin groove, and a scriber having the combination of a tailpin, a tracer pin and means for holding a writing instrument, eachsubstantially at the vertices of a right triangle,- said tracer pinbeing located at the right angle vertex and the angle at the tail pinvertex being substantially equal to said predetermined angle.

6. An adjustable scribing device comprising a template having charactergrooves and a tail pin groove, and a scriber having the combination of atail pin, a tracer pin, and means for holding a writing instrument, eachsubstantially at the vertices of a right triangle when the scriber isadjusted for drawing erect characters, said tracer pin being located atthe right angle vertex, a scriber body member having said tail pin andtracer pin secured thereto, an adjustable member carrying said means forholding a writing instrument, and pivot means placed at the midpoint ofthe hypotenuse of said right triangle about which said adjustable membermay be rotated, and means to hold said adjustable member in adjustedposition,

7. An adjustable scribing device comprising a template having charactergrooves and a tail pin groove, and a scriber having the combination of atail pin, a tracer pin, and means for holding a writing instrument, eachsubstantially at the vertices of a right triangle when the scriber isadjusted for drawing erect characters, said tracer pin being located atthe right angle vertex, a scriber body member having said tail pin andtracer pin secured thereto, an adjustable member carrying said means forholding a writing instrument, and pivot means placed at the midpoint ofthe hypotenuse of said right triangle about which said adjustable membermay be rotated, means to hold said adjustable member in adjustedposition, and a scale to show the position of said adjustable member.

8. An adjustable scribing device comprising a template having charactergrooves inclined backwardly at a predetermined angle from a verticalposition and a tail pin groove, and a scriber having the combination ofa tail pin, a tracer pin, and means for holding a writing instrument,each substantially at the vertices of a right triangle when the scriberis adjusted for drawing erect characters, said tracer pin being locatedat the right angle vertex, a scriber body member having said tail pinand tracer pin secured thereto, an adjustable member carrying said meansfor holding a writing instrument, and pivot means placed at the midpointof the hypotenuse of said right triangle about which said adjustablemember may be rotated, and means to hold said adjustable member inadjusted position and the angle at the tail pin vertex beingsubstantially equal to said predetermined angle.

9. In a scriber for drawing characters from a template having charactergrooves and a tail pin groove, the combination of a knob and a scriberplate secured thereto and carrying a tail pin, a,

:wri-ting instrument"comprising a; hole for re-.

" oeiving'ithe writing-instrument a" slot extending from said: holetoanedge "of said soriber forming a istraplike' memberlandflclamp.meansl acting to Wrap said straplike member around said'jwritinginstrument and hold: it in place.

310-32111 a template iforv :use with a scriberifor drawingcharacters'itherefrom and h'aving a; tail =pin,='atraceripin,andlmeans-for holding a writsing instrument-, eaoh substantially:atz-th'eLvertices r of a right triangle; i the tracer 'pin: beingvlocated l :at the :right angle vertex, and the-angle at the tail in r-vertex being iof. alpredetermined value, the combination of ahorizontaltailipin groove and character: igroove's forming characters 1 a"ipluralityof horizontal rowssaidacharacters in all lro'ws beinginclined backwardly from the 'vertical 'at 'an angleof thesamelpredetermined-.value.

' 111;"In an adjustable'scriber for drawing char- .iacters' from atemplate :ha;vin'glcharactei'" grooves anda ta'il pin groove theIOmbiHai-imfi of atail pinga; tracer pmana -means holdi-nga writingelements of f the combinatiori being adgj-fistable i away from a lvertexof a said I right-' -tria'ngle -for drawing inclined. I characters andmeans to: hold said adjustable element in adiusted position.

ROBERT ANDERSON.

5 UNITED STATES PATENTS

